What does Burden Mean?
Definition of Burden in Construction
The different amounts of money that need to be added to the hourly rate of an employee to accurately identify the cost of labor on a project.
Items such as insurance, taxes, vacation, pensions, workers compensation, health and safety, etc. are all “burdens” that must be added to the hourly rate of an employee to accurately account for the employees cost to the company.
The burden being carried by contractors varies, based upon the location of the project, its bureaucracy burden, which could include certified payroll requirements, special project agreements, minority requirements, special insurance requirements, etc. The worker compensation insurance burden is totally dependent on the history of the contractor and their safety record. The average individual is normally not aware of the amount of additive burdens that must be applied to the hourly wages of an individual.
Additional burdens that also apply to the bottom line are the various stipulations that various projects may incur. Stipulations such as reduced work hours, inability to make noise at certain times of the day, inability to use vibratory equipment, or limits on blasting and demolition, will also apply financial burdens on the contractor and increase the project costs. One of the primary reasons for a contractor to be consistently low on competitive bids is their inability to realize all the actual burdens on their cost to perform the work.